Reversible Denim

The trend for reversible denim is slowly catching hold. In times of economic uncertainty, getting two pairs of jeans in one is an appealing prospect and many companies are releasing versions of the new concept.

Salsa Jeans just launched TWO: on one side the jean is a dark, smart indigo finish and the other a more casual, worn and abraded look. Many factors had to be taken into consideration, including the positioning of the pockets, the seams, the zippers and the buttons. Bleulab calls itself the ‘Reversible denim company’ and founder Carl Jones designed a jean you can take from day to evening with a super skinny jegging fit. With renewed interest in tinted and bonded wefts and printed undersides, this new trend has many possibilities.

Salsa is cashing in on a trend that started about two seasons ago. As a concept, every brand does it once a while and there will always be a reversible available in the market at any point. The only difference is that while there might have been one or two brands doing it in the preceding seasons, this season has already seen big names like Wrangler, Lee, Salsa, Flying Machine, HTC, Meltin’ Pot taking this route. One more big difference in approach to designing this is how important a role the fabric treatment and garment washing, and trims play. Levi’s Sykes in India played this concept big with their marketing in 2003-4 and the audience took to it. Its time again.

KP

funny, I did it once in design school project in 2000, and it was a joke. On a serious note, with much higher finesse in both demand and supply, this is should be to watch out for.

Thanks for your comments both! Yes, I recognize it more as a marketing gimmick than the ‘future of denim design’ but like Gautam says its good to watch from a fabric/ wash/ trim use perspective and its worth keeping an eye out to see if and how it develops. And as we all know, consumers love a gimmick too!